This
was the Dalai Lama's third visit to Middlebury College. He joked
about his age and went into details about his gall bladder surgery. He also
described meeting Mao Zedong in the 1950s and being impressed with the Chinese
Communist leader.

He
described his own as Marxist, telling the audience that unlike capitalism,
Marxism calls for the equal distribution of wealth.

"A Marxist economy very much puts the emphasis on
the importance of equal distribution, not just thinking how to make a profit.
Whereas capitalism is not talking about equal distribution."

Earlier
this year, the Dalai Lama relinquished political leadership of his government
in exile but he remains a spiritual leader to Tibetans. Tenzin Namdol was one of a number of Tibetan
Vermonters at the event.

"For us, we
see him as a God figure first, and then comes the political leader," Namdol
said.

The Dalai
Lama will meet with Tibetans living in Vermont after he speaks at an event Saturday at Middlebury College.